


Before the Academy

by Candymind



Series: Flower Power [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Childhood Friends, F/F, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, Kid Haruno Sakura, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, Namikaze Minato Lives, No Kyuubi Attack, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Pre-Canon, Uzumaki Kushina Lives, but she's still small, small Children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candymind/pseuds/Candymind
Summary: Haruno Sakura may not have started out with much on her file, but that quickly changes. A chronicle of how Sakura's file changes before she even reaches the academy.
Relationships: Haruno Kizashi & Haruno Mebuki & Haruno Sakura, Haruno Kizashi/Haruno Mebuki, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Series: Flower Power [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936174
Comments: 39
Kudos: 340





	1. Early days

**Author's Note:**

> A few things to note here -  
> the nine tails never attacked the day Naruto was born, and so Minato is still Hokage and Kushina is tat the heart of jounin command (she's very cool and very busy. Naruto sleeps in the Hokage's office with his dad most days).  
> the Haruno clan trade mostly foods, hence the bakery, and have a lot of sway. Except because it's a shinobi village that doesn't count for all that much.  
> I like happy endings :).
> 
> Enjoy!

Haruno Sakura doesn’t start out in life with much. Or at least, that’s what the shinobi in charge of registering her birth think to themselves. Between being born to a civilian clan’s spare daughter and her father only just taking on enough missions to retain his chunin status, they think she’s destined to live and die just as she’s been born: invisible. 

But what they don’t see is the way Mebuki cradles her only daughter close to her chest with tears in her eyes, and how Kizashi only stopped taking dangerous missions because staying alive to become a father was suddenly more important than any money or status Konoha could offer. After all, the Harunos had enough money to support the soon-to-be parents without him bringing home a paycheck.

Even before Sakura’s born, their world shifts to revolve around her. A baby with bright pink hair is difficult to ever find invisible. And the couple couldn’t be happier.

The two take turns reading her stories - or at least Mebuki reads her stories of samurai and dragons whilst Kizashi recounts funny moments on long missions from days long past. Sometimes they’ll keep talking after she’s fallen asleep without noticing, too caught up in the magic. Other times they’ll fall asleep in the armchair by her side before she does, too exhausted from the nights of being woken up by her fierce cries.

Sakura has a pair of lungs on her. After their neighbors complain to the landlord for the fifth time, they end up moving back into the Haruno clan’s compound to the delight of the new grandparents. There’s a feast to welcome them that Sakura cries almost the whole way through, but she stops abruptly when Mio, Mebuki’s older sister, picks her up for the first time. Falling silent, Sakura stares up into bright green eyes exactly the same shade as her own.

She blinks, and smiles.

After that, Mio spends the days before she goes into labor with Sakura almost attached at the hip. She whispers tales of trade negotiations gone awry and sings soft songs of sleeping demons. Over the course of a couple of days, Sakura’s cries begin to lower in volume; there’s always Mio in close range to fetch her mum or sway her gently back and forth to the tune of one of the lullabies she loves.

Once her cousin, Minoru, is born, Mio watches over them both, letting Mebuki check in with the rest of the family and swing by to feed Sakura with various relatives wanting to coo over the youngest clan members. 

Even when she’s in the cot next to the future clan head, Sakura isn’t invisible to the Harunos. They argue over the origin of the pink hair - sighting great aunts and uncles along with Kizashi’s many removed cousins - and constantly bring blankets and dresses with cherry blossoms on. Over in the clan’s bakery, they sell cakes delicately iced with pink flowers alongside the usual assortment of pink sweets. People who share nothing in common with the Haruno’s other than their bread see the treats to celebrate the birth of Sakura and Minoru. 

Word spreads across the village, and Sakura’s name is mentioned next to Minoru’s as the harbingers of a golden age of sugary treats. Mio takes them down to the bakery when they’re having a quiet day, one tucked under each arm, to serve as tiny mascots. With her bright hair and shining eyes, hardly a customer enters the shop without cooing over her.

If anything, she’s the opposite of invisible. And more people see her everyday.

Haruno Sakura may not have started out with much on her file, but that quickly changes.

* * *

  
  


The first change comes when Minato, the current hokage, decides to surprise Kushina with sweets. The ANBU guard in his office recommends the small civilian bakery with cakes in every shade of pink and red, and Minato can’t stop himself from checking it out in the hopes of finding something the shade of his wife’s hair. He doesn’t anticipate there being babies the same age as Naruto tucked in by the counter. If one look at their huge smiles is enough to bring a tear to his eyes and persuade him to buy out all of their stock, then that can stay between his guard detail and the beaming cashier. 

After that, the bakery has a new regular who spends more time speaking to Sakura and Minoru than he does ordering anything. ANBU mark the place as safe after a sweep with a byakugan, and from then on Minato brings Naruto with him to help pick out pastries and gurgle at people his own age. One night, Minato asks for Sakura’s file.

On it, he writes a quick note about the best bakery in town having the best mascot in town. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


The second change comes when Sakura, now a couple of years old, learns how to move at speed without relying on the nearest adult. It spells disaster for any order in the Haruno compound, driving Kizashi frantic as he constantly ends up running after his runaway daughter.

It gets worse when she developes a method of communication that only she and her cousin can understand. No longer content to stay sitting for hours in the bakery, they crawl away the moment Mio’s back is turned and hide behind sacks of flour and in baskets of bread. 

Unknowing of the chaos unfolding within the Haruno compound, an unsuspecting Minato arrives for his regular order. 

“Everything alright?” he asks Mio, seeing her frantically scanning the space behind the counter with narrowed eyes. 

Sighing, she nods. “The two little devils have just gone AWOL, but I’m sure they’ll be back when they realise their favourite customer’s arrived,” she finishes off the sentence loudly in the hopes that the two toddlers would hear.

Because she knows they haven’t gone far. And she knows the kids love all of the stories Minato tells them about giant toads fighting snakes.

Yet, no small heads reveal themselves in the next few minutes. Minato picks up his bag, not noticing the unusual weight of it, and waves his thanks to Mio for the food. It’s not until Kushina unpacks the bag that anyone notices two toddlers giggling at each other.

“Minato!” she hollers, hair standing up and ready to drag her husband and interrogate him.

Startled, an ANBU with a hound mask peeks in through the window at the same time as Minato comes running in sporting his famous beloved pink apron. 

“Would you mind explaining why you’ve brought two kids home rather than any food?” she asks in a carefully level voice.

Below her nose, two pairs of large eyes watch on in awe as she renders Minato speechless. ANBU Hound decides it’s nothing life threatening and takes his time opening the latch for the window at the same time as Minato peers over the bag.

“Sakura? Minoru? How did I-” 

A thud from the window cuts him off. 

“Anything troubling you sensei?” asks Hound, dusting himself off and taking in the scene with a bemused shrug to his shoulders (and a bemused expression to match behind his ceramic mask).

All eyes fall onto the Hokage.

“Well…”

And that’s when Hound decides to notify the rest of the Hokage’s ANBU of a small bakery and a certain pair of troublemakers often found lurking nearby.

Naturally, this leads to another note on the toddler’s file.

* * *

  
  


The final note in her file isn’t so much of a note; it takes up a whole two pages when legal documents are included.

Kizashi, as much as he doesn’t want to, takes up a simple mission when Sakura’s four years old. On the mission file handed over at the office, the job doesn’t look like much - just escorting some of the Daimyo’s court across from Konoha to the capital. He takes it because he needs to complete one more mission to retain his chuunin status, and this is the only one that lets him leave just after Sakura’s birthday. And the Haruno’s have a feast planned for his little flower which he can’t miss. On top of that, he’s been planning on teaching her a valuable ninja skill (that he’s hoping she won’t just use for pranking even if he chose it because he knows how much fun she’ll have fooling people with it).

On the morning of the big day, Sakura wakes up to cake and her parents smiling down at her. Delighted, she lets out a shriek which probably wakes up the whole compound and leaves Kizashi wincing slightly. 

“Cake!” she yells, gaze skimming over parents to land on the cherry cake they’re holding. Eyes alight, she looks at tem as if to ask if she’s really allowed to eat this now for breakfast. 

Mebuki chuckles and pulls out some cutlery and plates.

“You might find these helpful chuck,” Mebuki answers Sakura’s wide eyes, cutting her daughter a slice. “Gotta make sure you don’t eat too much though, or Mio’s going to murder me…” she warns.

After the cake’s gone down, Kizashi takes Sakura out to the field behind the bakery reserved for the clan. 

“How would you like to learn a ninja trick?” he asks, carrying Sakura up on his shoulders.

Covering his eyes with her hands, Sakura shouts out, “YES!”, before swinging her legs back and forth to be put down. 

Leaning over, Kizashi lets her slide off his shoulders before standing up and beginning his instructions. “Now, you’re going to have to stand with your feet apart like this for now, until you get the hang of it,” he begins, setting his own feet shoulder width apart and watching carefully as Sakura copies him. “Right, so now we bring our hands together in a set of seals to focus our chakra, whilst picturing someone in our head. And if you practice enough -” he pauses and quickly performs the hand signs to transform him into Mebuki, “- you’ll look just like them!”

If possible, Sakura’s eyes grow even wider as a huge grin spreads across her face. Kizashi detransforms to her calls for him to do it again. 

They spend all morning practicing the correct way to put hands together and focusing chakra in the right way. By the end of it, Sakura’s forehead is shiny with sweat and Kizashi’s throat is hoarse from having to constantly remind her not to try transforming until they’ve practiced enough. 

Then, just before lunch, he lets her put everything together - unsure as to how Sakura’s transformation would turn out. 

Of  _ course _ , his little menace turns into an exact replica of her cousin on her first attempt. It doesn’t hold for more than a few seconds, in which time Kizashi has swooped her up in triumph to hold her high above his head as her cackles ring out loud. When he puts her down, Sakura looks up at him seriously.

“I’m going to be one of the best ninja ever just like you!” she proclaims wholeheartedly.

Kizashi can’t wait to see how great she’ll become in the peaceful village with the full support of one of the wealthiest merchant clans at her side.

Except he never makes it back from the mission to see her grow stronger - nobody’s quite sure what went wrong on such a simple B rank. But Sakura’s file gets a note on her frighteningly good henge and her dad’s official missing persons certificate.

  
A couple of months later, Mebuki asks someone to train her so that she can  find her husband and help her daughter’s dream of being the best shinobi come true serve her village to the best of her abilities. Mio watches all of this, and makes sure the clan is there to catch her sister if she needs it. Mio watches all of this, and trains her son to be as strong as the women around him so that he doesn’t get left behind when leading the clan.


	2. Ino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not many people have the time to watch relationships between kids, so there's an important gap in Sakura's file regarding one Yamanaka Ino. Alternatively, the beginnings of a relationship in three parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I wasn't expecting this eraction, ya'll who have read this, left comments, and left ludos are amazing!  
> Young Sakura gives me lots of feelings. Mainly, I want to protect her. But she can do that herself most of the time. Warning for bullying - kids can be horrible.

Tensions between the clans rises, and before Sakura’s fifth birthday nobody seems to have time to write notes in her file. After all, her mother’s only just joined the ranks of shinobi, and Sakura spends a lot of her time in a civilian clan.

In the wider scheme of things, she gets overlooked by most people scouting out the next class of pre-genin for the academy to take on - written off as a troublemaker or pitied for her father’s disappearance.

* * *

The first thing they miss starts off as something small. It starts off small, but it snowballs into something that scares Sakura.

Mebuki drops her off at the park - the one most shinobi drop their kids off at if they’ve got errands to run for a couple of hours. The place tends to have at least one pair of capable hands nearby, so it’s not unusual to be used in the place of childcare. On the way there, Sakura chatters happily about all of the awesome ninjas she’s seen walking around town lately.

Nodding to a couple of jounin watching over the sandpit, Mebuki leaves Sakura.

“I’ll be back before you know it, and there are plenty of great ninjas here who are your age so you might even want to stay later,” she pats her daughter on the head before speeding away with only a swirl of leaves in her wake.

Sakura’s so enthralled by her mum’s display of speed that she doesn’t notice a lazy drawl from behind her.

“Did you see that? The new girl with pink hair must be real bad for her mum to just leave her here…” it mutters.

Turning slowly, Sakura sees a cluster of boys about the same height as her sneering in her direction. She doesn’t understand why they’re looking at her like that - as if she’s first on the bottom of a shoe. 

But Sakura knows that they’d insulted her mum, and nobody gets away with doing that as long as she’s around. “What did you say about mum?” she asks lowly, hands balling up into fists at her sides.

“Only that she must really hate you if she sped off like that - probably couldn’t wait to be rid of someone with a forehead as big as  _ yours _ .”

Sakura sees red. She  _ knows  _ her mum loves her. 

“Why are you lying!” she yells, spurred on by the snickers of his group of lackeys.

“Woah there pinkie - I was just pointing out what we’re all thinking. Too scared to hear the truth?” he jeers.

Rubbing her knuckles into her palm, Sakura tries to hold steady and not throw punches just like how her dad had taught her.

“No answer?” he asks, throwing a glance over his shoulder, “She’s obviously dumb as well as ugly,” the boy jokes. He turns his back to her and walks off, followed by the group of kids.

Sakura is left alone under the cherry blossom with clenched fists and a raging pulse, seconds away from hurting someone intentionally for the first time in her life. The thought of her punching him scares her a little - or at least more than his words do.

For the rest of the time before her mum picks her up, Sakura sits beneath the tree. She doesn’t know what she’ll say to everyone else running around when her heart’s still pounding. Outside of her family, she hasn’t talked to many people outside of pranks.

It’s only just hitting her that most people don’t make friends by trying to slip by the Hokage’s ANBU guards and stealing cakes from family members. She sees a girl with blonde hair that’s as long as Sakura’s picking flowers and giving them to people who smile and invite her for games or offer to push a swing for her. 

Sakura wonders what she wouldn’t give to be given one of those flowers.

* * *

Nobody bats an eye as Mebuki, in spite of Sakura’s put out expression, leaves her at the park again. It ends up happening often enough that most of the kids recognise the quiet girl who sits under the cherry tree. Nobody notes down in Sakura’s file how the children ignore her, leaving a wide circle around her as they run about playing and laughing.

It gets to the point where Sakura stops hoping that someone would come over and ask her to join in a game. She spends her time planning extravagant pranks and wondering how her dad - the most amazing ninja ever - had never come back from a mission.

It gets to the point where she drags her feet and avoids the other kids because she’s scared of hurting them if they pick on her again.

Except, she can’t help but watch the girl with the pale hair and green eyes whenever she’s at the park. Unlike Sakura, she effortlessly dances in and out of different groups with ease. Nobody avoids her like they do Sakura, and she goes out of her way to talk to almost everyone in the park. 

Sakura can’t help but be surprised to look up one cloudy day and see a flower bobbing up and down in the wind. 

“Hi! I’m Ino,” the girl announces as if it were normal for people to come up and introduce themselves to Sakura.

Startled, Sakura stares up at the girl with wide eyes. Ino’s got a hairpin holding her hair back from her face in exactly the same place Sakura does, except Sakura can’t help but think Ino wears it better. 

“Sakura,” she whispers, not quite sure if she’s fallen asleep and is dreaming the whole interaction.

Ino yelps in excitement, “that name’s perfect! It matches your hair and…”

She looks down at the flower still held out for Sakura. “Don’t you want a flower? I can get a cherry blossom to match your hair if you’d prefer?” Ino asks, pressing a small forget-me-not into Sakura’s palm gently.

Worried about troubling Ino, Sakura shakes her head violently. “No! It’s okay - you can just sit here?” she suggests, hoping that Ino stays.

_ Hoping that she’s found a friend at last _ .

“Of course! I’ll bring cherry for you next time though,” Ino declares, crossing her arms as she sits down.

When Mebuki comes back, she takes note of the smile all over Sakura’s face as she looks at the Yamanaka heiress. She nods at Inoichi who’s standing at the gate watching the girls with a slight smile.

For the first time, Sakura doesn’t want to go home just yet.

* * *

Plenty of people notice how the Yamanaka heir and a girl with bright pink hair seem to be joined at the hip. But to them it’s nothing more than a young friendship bound to be broken when the blonde has to take on clan responsibilities. So nobody thinks about taking note of the two, even if one is hardly ever seen without the other.

Sakura gets to the playground early one day (she only knows this because she normally arrives at the same time as Ino does) and gets surrounded by the same boys from her first day. 

“Where’s your friend now?” asks the leader, wiping Sakura’s daydream of flowers from her mind.

She falters, not knowing how to answer this because she  _ doesn’t  _ know where Ino is.

“Has she forgotten about you already?” he sneers. 

“Maybe she was just pretending to like you,” suggests a member of the group who Sakura can’t see from her height behind her hair.

Irritation buzzes under her skin as those words sink in. Sakura knows that Ino likes her because Ino has told her over and over again that she loves Sakura. She tells her with the flowers she braids into Sakura’s hair and the tight hugs she gives whenever they see each other. 

So whoever said that is lying.

And Sakura knows that telling lies which hurt other people is bad - she’s started telling funny lies which make people laugh rather than shout at her for that reason.

“You- you’re lying!” the small girl yells with all of the conviction and righteous anger of an army. 

She doesn’t hear the footsteps running up behind her as she raises a fist.

“What are you gonna do billboard brow? Punching someone is illegal,” the first boy crows, making Sakura pause.

Just as she’s about to make her move and tackle the boy anyway, a hand snakes around her wrist. It’s warm and familiar with a flower stem in the palm.

Today it’s a white Camellia.

“Sakura, let’s go,” Ino whispers. “These idiots aren’t worth our time,” she adds in a slightly raised voice, before tugging on Sakura’s hand and leading her away.

When they’re far enough away, Ino sits down with the flower in her lap and unties the red ribbon around her hair.

“Punching those idiots definitely isn’t illegal,” Sakura grumbles, crossing her arms and pouting. She can’t quite decide if she’s annoyed at Ino for pulling her back from sending the boys flying.

Ino giggles. 

“Doesn’t mean they won’t put it on your record when you apply for the academy,” Ino replies, digging Sakura in the ribs right where her ticklish spot is. 

“Thank you for waiting for me - sorry dad was running late and wouldn’t let me walk ahead. I got this flower for you though,” smiles Ino as Sakura recovers from laughing.

“It’s beautiful.”

Taking the flower in two hands, Sakura holds it close to her face and looks at the layers of white petals. It reminds her of the flowers she sometimes finds on the windowsills at home when Mebuki doesn’t think she’s looking. 

Grinning about the flower being approved by Sakura, Ino then holds out the ribbon. “I want you to have it so that everyone can see how pretty you are under all that hair,” she explains, tossing her own hair so that it brushes her shoulders. 

In all truth, Sakura doesn’t really think about how she looks. Her fringe is long because everyone comments on the size of her forehead, and she wants people to notice her ninja skills rather than her face. But something about Ino saying she looks pretty makes her care a little bit - makes her want to wear the ribbon so that Ino can admire how pretty she looks in it. 

“Can I tie it on for you?” Ino asks tentatively.

Sakura nods furiously, and Ino wastes no time in tying the bright red ribbon behind Sakura’s fringe so that a small bow peeks out the top of her pink hair. Then, she takes the flower and winds the stem round the ribbon so that the petals rest against Sakura’s ear.

“There you go - beautiful!” she exclaims, jumping up to twirl Sakura around the way she’d seen her dad do to her mum. 

On her way back from the park later that evening, Sakura’s mum complements her new hairstyle and Sakura positively glows as she explains how awesome Ino is.

Mebuki thinks she might have to invite Inoichi over for dinner at some point considering how close their daughters are. She hopes that he’s noticed how much they’re beginning to mean to each other, even if the Haruno clan has little to offer to the Yamanaka clan when it comes to shinobi alliances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Yes I am using the language of flowers. White Camellia means waiting in Hanakotoba - which is the Japanese language of flowers. It's very interesting if you fancy some research :)


	3. Ninja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter before Sakura joins the academy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to this has been amazing! I had no idea so many people would want to read about my gals, so thank you! Enjoy the chapter :)

With a pink peony to match her hair tucked behind one ear, Sakura gets noticed by almost everyone she passes. By now, she’s used to the flowers which Ino gives her drawing looks - even if she doesn’t know what they mean. When she’d asked her mum, Mebuki had smiled and said that flowers carry hidden messages.

But, as a young ninja in training, Sakura doesn’t think she has time to decipher messages from flowers. Instead, she spends her days with Ino trading knowledge on chakra and jutsu. When they’re both up to date, they’ll sneak around the village seeing how many people they can trick and spy on. 

Sakura loves setting up traps the most. She loves the way Ino knows which way people will walk into it, and can predict how they’ll try to escape the sacks of flour and showers of petals. She loves how they can walk away from the scene whistling as though the trap had been set by someone else.

Those times when they think they’re being invisible are just the times everyone’s letting them think they are. The two accomplices have a stack of unofficial notes on their files which is growing everyday. 

Minato has them earmarked for the same class in the academy as his son and Mikoto's youngest kid. He watches the pranks and notes down the colour of the petals, thinking that the next generation might just be able to smooth things over between their elders if they manage to make friends. After all, the growing alliance between the Haruno clan and the Yamanaka’s after their youngest daughters met each other is proof his plan might just work.

So he tells Hound to continue watching over the two girls, even if the ANBU is used to bloodier jobs. Minato can’t trust anyone else with the job.

* * *

Kakashi tries his best not to smile at the kids he’s watching for the fourth. Except it’s almost impossible when the Yamanaka keeps giving the Haruno flowers confessing undying love and devotion. It’s pure and sweet and everything the shinobi life is not. Part of him hopes they give up their dreams of becoming ninja and keep trading forget-me-nots forever.

But at the end of the day he still reports upon their chakra control and trapping abilities to Minato.

“Haruno can perform an almost perfect henge of most people she sees - in the future we might consider putting her under a genjutsu specialist. And her friend has a flawless knowledge of hanakotoba already. If I didn’t know any different I’d say they were in training to fast-track through the academy,” he reports in. 

Minato nods, the end of a pencil tapping the corner of his mouth. “And what about their interactions with kids their own age?” he asks thoughtfully.

Considering his reply, Kakashi turns a page of his book over. 

“I’ve only really seen them interact with each other so far. If they were older there would be wedding bells,” he finishes with a slight smile.

Chuckling, the fourth Hokage stretches his back. “I suppose it’s time I bully the elders into updating some marriage laws then…” he trails off with a knowing look in Kakashi’s direction.

Hiding his visible eye behind his book, Kakashi sighs. “For the last time sensei, I’m not going to let you interfere in my love life no matter how old I am or how many times Kushina invites us for dinner. You’ll find out who it is if we file any papers anyway.”

With that, he snaps his book shut and disappears out the window to escape his cackling teacher and update a certain someone on the Hokage’s plan for weddings.

* * *

  
  


Sakura doesn’t know that someone’s watching for her reaction closely when they deliver her invitation to join the academy. Hound tries not to feel guilty about helping her sign up for a life of blood and tears, but he does anyway.

The little girl’s at home with her mum today - a rare occasion with the perfect conditions to deliver official documents to the small family. There are lotuses on display on a sideboard and weapons neatly stacked high from the floor. The duo don’t live in the haruno compound anymore (the politics of housing an active shinobi any level above chuunin in a civilian clan’s compound turned out to be ridiculous), yet the Haruno circle is still displayed proudly around the apartment. Sakura sits at the table with the letter clutched in her hands as Mebuki washes dishes.

“Should I open it now? What’s inside do you think? It’s got the Hokage’s seal on it!” Sakura bubbles with excitement, peering at the envelope from all directions. 

Walking over to take a look, Mebuki stands behind her daughter and peers at the letter. “It’s yours to open love,” she says, patting Sakura on the shoulder.

Squealing with excitement, Sakura opens up the letter.

“Mum it’s from the Hokage! He wants me to join the village and help protect everyone!” she yells, hardly taking any time to read.

“Mum! Mum! I’m going to be the best ninja ever just like dad said I would! One day I’ll pass all of those exams like you did and know all about the flowers like Ino does!” she gets out all in the same breath.

Mebuki sweeps Sakura up in a huge hug and swings her round. “My little Sakura off to the academy already? You know you can always stay here or go to school with Minoru until you’re a little older?” she teases, knowing full well that Sakura has already made plans in her head to go to the academy no matter what. 

Putting Sakura down, Mebuki moves to read the letter. It’s handwritten by the Fourth - which she’s pretty sure isn’t the standard procedure. But then again, she supposes that it’s not everyday that someone manages to get away with pranking the Hokage and forms friendships strong enough to cross the old divide between civilians and shinobi. It’s hardly surprising, all in all, that Sakura’s been invited to the academy at the same age as most of the clan kids in town.

Mebuki wonders when Sakura will realize she’ll be in the same year as Ino.

* * *

Since Sakura had accepted a place at the academy to start in a couple of weeks, Hound hadn’t had to work too hard in tracking her. Almost everyday, Sakura rises early and walks over to the Yamanaka flower shop where Ino lives. Then, the two girls would escape the flowers and head into the Yamanaka’s training field with a bag of blunt weapons and a lot of determination. 

Kakashi remembers training like that when he was little - training like it meant everything. Except he either trained alone, or with his father.

The girls don’t spend all day training though. There’s a flourishing patch of daisies under an old tree which they sit under making daisy chains to gift each other and thread through the loops of kunai and shuriken. Ino has the skill to weave in other flowers too, often bringing a bag of blooms going spare from the shop so she can conjure up crowns for Sakura.

Heart growing soft, Kakashi decides to help the two out and casually leave a couple of textbooks from the academy in their paths. Sakura reads everything he leaves in a matter of days, making him go back and forth to the library almost everyday to find new books suitable for training young kids how to survive missions. Occasionally Ino will flick through a book too, though Kakashi’s pretty sure she’s just using the book as a cover to spend hours staring at Sakura. 

_ It’s no wonder the Yamanka have allied so strongly with the Harunos. _

Summer passes quickly and Sakura’s file grows almost everyday with everything Hound sees. Minato smiles as he hears about the two training together, not mentioning it when Hound files to be exempt from assasination missions. Instead he lets it slip that the council have finally caved into his proposals surrounding same sex marriage, and mentions that the Yamanakas are supporting the move by offering free flowers to the first few couples to make use of the legislation. 

If he passes on some of the notes to Iruka, then that’s between him and his husband. In spite of himself, he wants Sakura to succeed, and giving her teacher-to-be a heads up on her insane chakra control might just give her the edge she needs.

* * *

  
  


The day before her first class, Sakura walks with her mum over to the Haruno compound to formally declare her intention to become a warrior for the village. Her formal Kimono is soft against her skin, with the deep red contrasting the white of the Haruno emblem. People nod at her and her mother as they make the short walk to the compound, making Sakura feel as if she’s in some sort of spotlight.

Mio is there to welcome them at the door, also in a formal Kimono. Hers has small white circles along the hem and is just as deep a red as Sakura’s is. Pulling Sakura in for a quick embrace, Mio whispers, “Just stick close to me and you’ll be alright little flower.”

The whole clan is sitting in the large hall Sakura remembers having feasts on special occasions in. At the head of a long, low table, sits Minako, the head of the clan, in all of her aged refinement.

Bowing low, Sakura enters the hall and stands at the other end of the table at a nod from Mio. Her mother is only a couple of steps behind her but it feels like so much further as Sakura stands with the full attention of her clan on her.

“I, Haruno Sakura, seek permission to become a warrior for the village which keeps us safe. I would be deeply honoured if you would grant me this.”

Minako nods her head slightly and Sakura wonders for a moment in the silence if she’s going to get denied permission. Her heart hammers louder than ever in her ears and sweat slicks over the back of her neck.

“It is an honour to serve one’s village. As clan head, I grant you the freedom to follow this path so long as you wear our crest,” Minako answers gracefully.

Wanting to jump for joy, Sakura settles for bowing deeply with a lot more energy than when she’d walked in only minutes before. 

“Thank you! I will bring honour to our name and bear the crest with pride!” she beams up at her grandmother.

“Rise Sakura, it’s my pleasure to let you do something which brings you such joy - even if I know many of us will miss seeing you round here so often,” she replies, standing up and gesturing to the wider clan. “Now, we have an excellent feast prepared which I’d hate to get cold. Will you take a seat next to me, Sakura, and indulge an old lady?”

Sakura walks across and takes a seat, grinning for the whole world to see.

_ Because she’s going to be a ninja! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for them to join Iruka's class and meet the rest of the Konoha twelve properly! Yes, Kakashi just married his favourite teacher off-screen, but I didn't want them being the focus of this. Minato is also sad he only found out about the wedding after it had happened when updating Kakashi's file.  
> I'm making this into a series and the next fic will be focused on Sakura's time at the academy.
> 
> For anyone who's interested-  
> Peony (pink)- bravery. Also known as the king of flowers  
> Lotus- far from the one you love  
> Daisy- faith
> 
> and if you need a reminder-  
> Mio- Sakura’s maternal aunt. A beautiful cherry blossom, or a beautiful thread.  
> Minoru- Mio’s son. The process of a tree when it bears fruit, when fruit grown on a tree  
> Minako- the head of the Haruno clan. Sakura’s grandmother. An Apple tree/beautiful child
> 
> See ya'll for the next stage of the lil ninja's life!

**Author's Note:**

> for people who are interested in the meanings of names:  
> Mio- Sakura’s maternal aunt. A beautiful cherry blossom, or a beautiful thread.  
> Minoru- Mio’s son. The process of a tree when it bears fruit, when fruit grown on a tree
> 
> let me know what ya think!


End file.
